The Wrong Man is based on the true story of Christopher "Manny" Emmanuel Balestrero, a bass fiddle player at the Stork Club and a devoted family man. One day Manny goes into the insurance office to check on his wife's policy in order to acquire a loan needed to remove her wisdom teeth. The women there falsely believe that he is the same man who held them up twice and they call the police. Based on the eyewitness testimony, Manny is arrested and goes to trial for a crime he did not commit.
I had never seen this film before tonight, and I am very sorry that it took me this long to get around to it. This is one of Hitchcock's best works, and I would venture to say his darkest film this side of Psycho. The case of mistaken identity, of a man falsely accused, was one of Hitchcock's favorite themes throughout his entire career. But this one truly stands out for a number of reasons.
The first being that it is indeed based on a true story, and Hitchcock chose to follow the story fairly closely. Hitchcock himself appeared at the beginning of the film to tell the viewer that the story is real. It created a sense or urgency and panic. I found myself yelling at the cops on the television, I was so angry and frustrated with the investigation.The realism was extreme. I felt very attached to Manny, and I felt that I could truly sense his pain.
The second was the very dark, cynical edge this movie had. This was partially due to the realism, but also to pure Hitchcockian technique. I think this was his best shot film as far as the art of camera work goes, all contributing to that dark, hopeless feel. One particularly impressive sequence of film is when Manny is being marched into the prison. There is a series of quick shots of Manny's face, looking down, then his feet, then a back view of the feet of prisoners walking in front of him. The entire sequence is very unsettling. It was truly a work of art.
The score also helped create the dark atmosphere. I found myself hooked by the music from the opening scene. Even in the peaceful moments I never felt settled or safe, because the music was constantly lurking creepily, creating a sense of suspense and reminding me that this story would not be a pleasant one.
The final scene of the film left me with a sick feeling, in a good way, a Hitchcock-is-definitely-the-master-of-suspense way. It was extremely dark and creepy and very disturbing.
The acting was phenomenal. Henry Fonda captured Manny Balestrero. He was sympathetic, real, and very true to the character. The star of the show turned out to be Vera Miles though, in her performance as Manny's wife Rose. The viewer most likely takes little notice of her for most of the film. But her performance in two scenes of the film had me speechless, and at the end of the film it was her I was thinking about, and not Fonda.
I would rate this film very high in terms of ranking Hitchcock films, and still can't believe it's taken me this long to see it. I'm very glad I chose this one, and if you haven't seen it, you should make it your next Hitchcock to watch.
I recently watched this film myself.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who thinks innocent people dont go to jail need to catch this flic. It demonstrates how an impressionable person can give false testimony thru the power of persuasive input and circumstantial evidence. A must see film!!
As always Ms Henderson; you have done a marvelous job of reviewing this powerful film!!